Dear Westfield State Community,

 

This is to let you know about the loss of 838 video titles (including nearly all Ken Burns titles, as well as other documentaries from PBS, Annenberg, HBO, BBC, and other producers) from our Films-on-Demand database. The list of titles that will no longer be available are attached as an Excel spreadsheet. This is due to the loss of viewing rights in an increasingly competitive video marketplace. This comes on top of the loss of other significant resources. With the defunding of the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), we lost access to 20 academic databases in July. The library also had a $50,000 reduction in our FY26 operating budget, further reducing resources and operating hours.

 

The good news is that there is alternative access for two of our most-used titles. Librarian Brian Hubbard searched available resources and found that the Ken Burns Jazz documentary series and Civil War series are available through a free Boston Public Library (BPL) e-card. Just these two series have collectively been watched over 14,000 times here at WSU and are clearly important resources. 

 

You can register for a BPL eCard here: https://www.bpl.org/ecard/

You may register for a Boston Public Library eCard for online access to numerous databases if you are any of the following:

- A permanent resident of Massachusetts

- Reside in Massachusetts because you are attending school here

- Commute to a Massachusetts employer regularly

- Own property (real estate) in Mass.

 

If you find that you can no longer access an important title through Films on Demand, or need help navigating BPLs website, please contact your subject librarian. As demonstrated by Brian Hubbard, the librarians are expert in finding alternative resources in a complex information environment.